The Patriot Post Digest 3-14-2017

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The Patriot Post Digest 3-14-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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Mid-Day Digest

Mar. 14, 2017

IN TODAY’S EDITION

Don’t take the CBO’s latest projections on GOP health reform as gospel truth.
Sonia Sotomayor suddenly thinks judges aren’t political.
America’s energy boom has the future looking bright.
Daily Features: Top Headlines, Cartoons, Columnists and Short Cuts.

THE FOUNDATION

“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclination, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” —John Adams (1770)

TOP RIGHT HOOKS

The CBO: The Government’s Favorite Psychic1

On Monday, the Congressional Budget Office released its report on the projected impact of the House Republicans' American Health Care Act (AHCA). The CBO estimated the law would result in a reduction of budget deficits by some $337 billion over a 10-year period, as well as up to 24 million more uninsured Americans by 2026. House Speaker Paul Ryan predicted that the report would estimate an increased number of uninsured. He said Sunday, “The one thing I’m certain will happen is CBO will say, ‘Well, gosh. Not as many people will get coverage.’ You know why? Because this isn’t a government mandate. This is not the government that makes you buy what we say you should buy, and therefore the government thinks you’re all going to buy it.”

It’s always easier to insure more people by forcing them to buy insurance.

Barack Obama’s goal with the Affordable Care Act was not affordable health care, but socialized health care — the first step toward a single-payer system similar to those found in many European nations. Republicans are in the unenviable position of solving a difficult two-part problem. The first task is repealing and dismantling ObamaCare, while the second is to find an effective solution to skyrocketing health care costs.

The split within the GOP falls over determining which problem is the greater issue. For conservatives like Rand Paul, the primary issue is one of freedom and a principled fight against encroaching socialism. For more moderate Republicans like Paul Ryan, dealing with rising health care costs takes precedence. Both sides agree that ObamaCare is a disaster.

Predictably, the Leftmedia has taken the CBO report and used it as another brush by which to paint its favorite strawman caricature of heartless Republicans. Never mind that the average premiums under ObamaCare this year will increase by 25% with continued increases in subsequent years, whereas the projections for the Republicans' plan show an initial premium increase of between 15% and 20% followed by a steady decline over the next decade.

And one more point of emphasis: Remember those past CBO projections for ObamaCare enrollment and cost numbers? Prior to the Affordable Care Act’s passage, the CBO predicted that the law would cut the deficit by upwards of $1 trillion in 20 years. Now, it’s admitted that ObamaCare will instead only add to the deficit. And those 30 million more Americans insured by 2017? The actual number is 14 million. So don’t take CBO projections as gospel truth. Its estimates have been way off the mark with ObamaCare. Why should its latest projections on the AHCA now be trusted?

Judicial Activist Denies Judicial Activism2

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor claims to be mourning the burgeoning sentiment that judicial activism is permeating American politics and undermining Rule of Law. While visiting the University of California, Berkeley, last week, the Associated Press reported3 that “Sotomayor said judges try to be fair and impartial and don’t have rigid beliefs they apply to every case. She encouraged people to view judges as ‘human beings who care deeply about what we’re doing.’” This comes 16 years after she told the same school something entirely different: “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.”

In truth, “there is much in the body of American law which was never specifically spelled out in the Constitution,” Hot Air’s Jazz Shaw retorts4. “That requires the exercise of individual judgment and the application of instincts when interpreting the law.” That being said, “These are human beings we’re talking about and it’s a group of people who have spent their professional careers steeped in a study of subjects which are permanently interwoven with politics. How are we to expect them to arrive at their positions without some baggage trailing behind them?”

Take, for example, Justice Sotomayor in United States v. Texas (Obama’s executive amnesty). As we recently reported5, she refused to recuse herself despite having long promoted open borders. That she ignored this conflict of interest and ruled on the case anyway reeks of judicial activism. What the Court needs is balance, which is obtained through jurists who have the strength, courage and goodwill to not let prejudices interfere. As her soon-to-be colleague, Neil Gorsuch, has observed: “A judge who likes every result he reaches is very likely a bad judge.” That’s something Justice Sotomayor has yet to understand.

Top Headlines6

Trump faces challenge of visa overstays, the largest source of illegal immigration. (The Daily Signal7)

Democrats hint they’ll shut down the government to stop funding for Trump’s border wall. (McClatchy8.)

Spicer: Trump plans to donate his presidential salary and “let the press corps determine where it should go.” (CNS News9)

Trump’s skeletal crew — The administration needs to pick up the pace of hiring. (National Review10)

Obama lawyers move fast to join fight against Trump. (Reuters11)

Putin spokesman contradicts Clinton team’s claim they didn’t meet any Russian officials during campaign. (The Washington Free Beacon12)

Keen Sense of the Obvious: CBO says defunding Planned Parenthood would lead to thousands more births. (The Washington Post13)

Ferguson protests after latest Michael Brown video: Shots fired, one officer with a broken nose, attempted arson of a police car. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch14)

Foes of government excess to pick “Champion of Waste” in March Madness parody. (The Daily Signal15)

Legal gun ownership surges in Chicago. (The Washington Free Beacon16)

Policy: Four common-sense Medicaid solutions House Republicans should put in their Obamacare replacement. (Washington Examiner17)

Policy: Don’t trust those CBO health care numbers. (Investor’s Business Daily18.)

For more, visit Patriot Headline Report19.
Don’t Miss Patriot Humor

Check out Camouflage20.

If you’d like to receive Patriot Humor by email, update your subscription here21.

FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
The American Energy Boom22

By Paul Albaugh

For years, we’ve heard numerous politicians declare that we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, particularly from the Middle East, and that we need to become energy independent. We’ve also heard that we need to completely cease use of fossil fuels. Arguments include eventually running out of oil, the danger of over-reliance on other countries to fuel our economy and that fossil fuels cause climate change.

We were told, primarily during the years of the previous administration, that the United States must lead the way to seek out and develop alternative sources of energy — “green” energy — such as wind and solar in order to prevent mankind from destroying ourselves via the excessive use of fossil fuels.

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The Patriot Post Digest 3-14-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
Free Email Subscription
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On paper these ideas of alternative sources sound fantastic, and perhaps in the decades to come they will be consistent and more affordable. But for now, oil, is still the cheapest, most reliable form of energy, and U.S. energy policy should reflect that reality.

In the summer of 2016, Rystad Energy, an oil consulting firm, released new data23 revealing that the United States has more oil reserves at an estimated 264 billion barrels than any other country in the world. This, for the first time in history, surpasses Russia at 256 billion barrels and Saudi Arabia at 212 billion barrels.

If we have so much of our own oil, it seems reasonable to ask, why are we still relying on the Middle East to provide this valuable resource? The short answer is that we only have approximately 22 billion barrels of proven reserves — that is, we only have the ability to tap into 22 billion barrels of oil due to technological limitations and regulations. The cost of extraction is another factor in calculating proven reserves, which is why “cheap oil” effectively reduces these reserves — cost exceeds profitability when oil is cheap.

Several years ago, oil production in the U.S. increased substantially with the use of new extraction technology. Hydrologic fracturing, or “fracking,” was the new means of production and Pennsylvania, North Dakota and Texas saw the largest increases in oil (and natural gas) production.

This new availability of oil posed a significant threat to the U.S.’s previous primary supplier of oil, Saudi Arabia. Before this expansion in extraction, the price for a barrel of oil was $115. Once the 21st Century American boom began, the Saudis, in an attempt to drive American innovators out of the oil business, lowered the price per barrel to $30, gambling their economy on the hopes that U.S. oil companies would run out of cash and close up shop, thereby forcing continued American reliance upon Saudi Arabian oil.

Their plan didn’t quite work. In fact, the Saudi economy is declining. “The International Monetary Fund in January slashed its forecast for Saudi economic growth this year to 0.4 percent from 2 percent,” Bloomberg reports24. “Net foreign assets, though still above $500 billion, are shrinking as the government uses savings to plug a budget deficit that reached $79 billion last year — $107 billion if delayed payments to contractors are included.”

What does all of this mean and why does it matter?

First, Saudi Arabia’s declining economy has weakened its strategic position in the Arab world, and that, combined with Barack Obama boosting Iran’s influence, has fueled instability in the Middle East.

Second, the U.S., because of the technological advances resulting in more American oil production, has transitioned from being a net oil importer to a net exporter of oil. In fact, the biggest onshore oil discovery in 30 years was just announced in Alaska. This, of course, is welcome news with its lower consumer fuel prices and more American jobs.

Finally, as we look forward, President Donald Trump’s administration has the opportunity to create sound energy policy. We should continue striving toward energy independence, but do so without paralyzing other economies in the world. Furthermore, the largest driver of cost in the energy sector is regulation. The Trump administration should push for deregulation across the board for those businesses who are seeking new, better and safer ways to tap into America’s vast resources. Unleashing the power of competition amongst American businesses and workers is what will drive success in the energy sector.

Our nation has a bright future when it comes to energy. The key is going to be harnessing that energy through the free market.

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

Is This the End of ‘Liberalism’ in the USA?25 — Militant leftist extremists have taken over a large swath of the Left.
Rolling Back the Administrative State26 — Trump’s proposed budget: More military, less for other agencies.
College Students' Fascist View of Tolerance27 — Most students think Muslims and Christians don’t have the same rights.
Kids Slammed for Wearing Patriotic Clothing28 — Des Moines North High School has a large refugee population.
Democrats Flip-Flop on Russia29 — A video montage of politics at its worst.

BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

Dennis Prager: Some on the Left Now Criticize the Students They Created30
Stephen Moore: Europe’s Lesson Teaches Us: Don’t Go Green31
Hans von Spakovsky & Grant Strobl: What the Media Won’t Tell You About Illegal Immigration and Criminal Activity32

For more, visit Right Opinion33.

OPINION IN BRIEF

Marvin J. Folkertsma: “There is a chasm separating our country’s elites from regular citizens, a matter that has been addressed increasingly by thoughtful observers of American politics. Although developments in our country have not reached the crisis levels that destroyed Rome, for instance, or France under Louis XVI, clearly the existence of vast, interconnected swath of overseers — actors and activists, professors and pundits, politicians and bureaucrats — who are insulated from reality and the consequences of what they say and do spells doom for America. Which means that any measures that force elites into the world of responsibility should be welcomed, regardless of preposterous screeches of protest such efforts would ignite. The normals among us fervently hope that such efforts succeed before it is too late, before our ‘land of the free’ succumbs to the tyrannies (soft or hard) that inevitably ensue when irresponsible elites lose all interest in preserving the country that made them so important in the first place.”

SHORT CUTS

Insight: “To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition, the end to which every enterprise and labor tends, and of which every desire prompts the prosecution.” —Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

Upright: “Nothing in Washington happens by itself; no policy ever self-destructs; it takes the political equivalent of a pile of plastic explosives to make something happen. Unless, of course, Obamacare suddenly (and inexplicably) were applied to members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, their staffs, and everyone else on a government payroll. Then, before you could say ‘Affordable Healthcare,’ Barack Obama’s signature legislation would vanish overnight. In short, forcing lawmakers to obey their own laws would do wonders to clarify minds and speed up lethargic congressional processes.” —Marvin J. Folkertsma

Non Compos Mentis: “I hope that [Republicans] would pull the bill. That’s really the only decent thing to do. Numbers are important. They see the numbers. They should know how that transfers into people’s lives.” —Nancy Pelosi who is suddenly concerned about a health care bill’s harmful effects

Contemplations of an alternative journalist: “Is it as striking to you in the briefing room as it is to television viewers that an alternative universe is being proposed, alternative definitions are being trotted out in real time?” —Brian Williams

Village Idiots: “Nazism is alive in the West.” —Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

And last… “Why would anyone be offended by someone saying that ‘Western civilization’ is preferable to the alternative? No one is forced to come here. So why would any newcomer be insulted if his prospective home expected him to adopt Western values? That’s what we do here. To be American is an ideal.” —David Harsanyi

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Managing Editor Nate Jackson

Join us in daily prayer for our Patriots in uniform — Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen — standing in harm’s way in defense of Liberty, and for their families.